The Location of Culture, The Other Question

Homi Bhabha’s chapter in the Location of Culture entitled “The Other Question” posits the notion of the Other as a misrepresentation as opposed to an understanding of the self through representation as established in Orientalism. He positions the stereotype as a stagnant, trapped moment of exaggeration that are employed in order to give evidence to supposed truths. These gross exaggerations are characterized by their fixivity. They serve as mechanisms for easily comprehending the subjugated Other and serve as an excuse for continued inequity. Essentially, the circumscribing and simple definitions of people function to continue an agenda of repeated discrimination.

The reading was definitely dense, and difficult to navigate because due to the complexity of its terms especially in relation to the Freudian theory that was referenced. But upon review and rereading, its explanations of the structure of stereotypes and how it behaves were very eye opening. My notes are in the Read More section. Here is the link to the chapter http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=e31beb6c39699ebc1bee9a6e9edd9c76e04e75f6e8ebb871

The Ox

Ichthys, Quetzalcoatl and Cortes

This is going to be a quick post but I’ve been considering the uncanny relationship between the return of Quetzalcoatl to the Aztecs and the second coming of Jesus Christ and the intersection that occurs between these two cultural beliefs when Cortes landed on the mainland of Mexico. While some scholars, such as Matthew Restall,  dispute whether in fact the Aztecs believed Cortes and his men to be the return of the Gods, it is incredible to consider that the Spanish fulfilled the legend of the Aztecs, but instead of salvation, they brought Catholicism and destruction. Also, I was struck in exploring the various relations between Christian and Aztec iconography, to rediscover from my old learning that the fish, represented by the appropriated Ichthys, is the symbol of Jesus and that Cortes, in alignment with the return of Quetzalcoatl, arrived to the mainland using ships that were described by the indigenous peoples as “floating mountains.”

Now the dilemma is how do I make this into a piece? How do I translate all of these junctions of cultures into a contemporary object. More on this topic as I continue to explore it later.

Cleo From 5 to 7

It is the social organism that we have independently developed that defines the development of the urban. It is the portrait of the urban as the result of industrialization, or modernization, and now its epoch, celebration, revival, and constant struggle over its organization. It is a picture of the urban anxiety, it is the occurrence of the dichotomy between the human urban organization, and the romantic, organic, realm of nature. The separation that is born of the intensity of the city streets that instigates the desire for green space and parks as an escape.

It is within the social that she descends to become awash in people and find a resolution to her constant apprehension. When she is alone in the park, she finds romance and solace.

It forces one to question whether the system invents and then settles her emotional instability. Whether she is in a paradigm that is perpetually reinstating itself upon her. Whether her desires and predicaments are in fact determined by her environment, and then appropriately met. This cycle of meeting formulated needs is expressed most clearly in the scene of the silent movie where the saddened protagonist is comforted by vendors who are selling everything he needs for the death his loved one. He is seamlessly met with a handkerchief and a bouquet of flowers as if they were awaiting him.

And besides all of the incredible details that one could endlessly explore in the movie, its worth the watch just for the wonderful romance.

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

Max Weber’s seminal work The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism attempts to map the influence of Protestant values on the development of Capitalism. He demonstrated that the Protestant emphasis on the individual, intense asceticism and their constant anxiety over salvation made them well adapted for modern capitalism. Particularly, their notion that God’s will to organize the world according to his commandments is achieved through the social and material success of his chosen. His thesis is in direct opposition to the apparently Marxist philosophy that Capitalism is driven by an inherent greed and disregard for collateral or maybe even a notion that it has developed purely out of a structure of survival of the fittest.

I am pursuing this text in an effort to get a grasp on how religious beliefs have shaped capitalism and its development. One series that I would suggest, despite its rudimentary nature, is the Ascent of Money series on PBS which is led by economist and historian Niall Ferguson, whom I became acquainted with on the Planet Money Podcast. I know that this is a tremendous and practically unmapable pursuit, but I have some faith that even just small insights through a variety of resources will provide some rich material for pieces. In the read more section of this post I ll include the notes that I’ve taken thus so far.

Thomas Kinkade

Apparently Thomas Kinkade is the most widely collected artist in America. While I cannot find the specific study, which is really unfortunate given how strangely insightful it is, Kinkade’s work reminds me of the finding that the archetypal piece that Americans would find most appealing is a bucolic landscape preferably with president situated in the scenery.

Mimesis and Alterity

The chapter, ‘In Some Way or Another One Can Protect Oneself From the Spirits By Portraying Them’ in Michael Taussig’s Mimesis and Alterity, while difficult to initially discern with a first read, is concerned with the contrast of empirical Science and shamanistic magic. By exploring the representations of each of these two apparently dichotomous fields, he maps how both in fact attempt to understand the other through reproduction.  The Cuna figurines known as the Nuchu encapsulate the image of the Colonial figure and through mimesis attempt to control Western power. He in turn theorizes that this is exactly what Ethnology attempts to achieve. Creating a system of knowledge to in turn control the other.

You can download the full chapter here and follow the read more link  for my corresponding notes.

Fall

Now that Fall is finally upon us and the weather is beginning to turn, its time to return to Sibylle Baier. Her only album that I know of Colour Green is one of the most incredible piece’s of music that I have ever heard. Her soft voice and sparse ensemble is perfect for this season. Listening reminds me of picking apples and climbing through bails of hay mazes. The power that music has over memory is an incredible tool, and I think that it is important, whenever possible, to associate a piece of music with the process of making a piece of art. I listened to this Colour Green most heavily while creating a giant pencil drawing two years ago. Listening to her still engenders that experience vividly in a way that is difficult to recall otherwise.

You can have the album here

Johnathan Horowitz Tour, Exhibition and New Video at PS1

Last Sunday, I was over at PS1 in the afternoon during a window of recovery in my ailment that serendipitously coincided with a guided tour by the artist Johnathan Horowitz of his own work. The intensity and tough wit of the pieces within the show account for his extemely quiet demeanor and hushed voice. There were even moments in the tour when his personal words were drowned out by his own intensely loud artwork.

Besides the constant struggle to hear the artist, it was of course insightful to gain entry into the works through personal anecdotes and direct explanation from Horowitz. I believe his work is most impactful when supported by exterior sources that can guide a visitor through the exhibition. Especially, given his extensive references to popular culture, to which, I assure you, without the help of an aid would have been blind to. On first visit I had a brochure as a supplement to keep me up to speed with Horowitz’s pieces, and on the second I had none other than the artist himself, without either of which I would have been very lost. I stress this point simply to point out the intensely referential and complex nature of Horowitz’s satirical "communication."

Triumph of the Will and A Grin Without a Cat

Last week, I spent the day watching Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl (Available via YouTube), the infamous Nazi propaganda film that documents the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremburg, and A Grin Without a Cat by Chris Marker. While both films approach their political subjects with radical difference in style, editing and context, they both serve as incredible portraits into overwhelming political movements that have utterly shaped the way we function today.

My question is not whether if peace in conjunction and following invasion is a valid sequence, because I know so little about foreign policies of the various powers in the 20th Cent. Rather, I simply make this observation to point out that the rhetoric of peace is a mechanism used by the wide range of  political movements, from fascists to communists, from dictators to revolutionaries. This is something that we are acutely aware of in the United States when the term “Peace” is comparable with that of “Democracy.” Bringing freedom by flattening and then rebuilding.

A Grin Without a Cat is a portrait of seemingly futile struggle against immense hegemonic and imperialist powers and against the revolutionary self. The contradiction in the ascension towards power. It’s extensive use of archival footage does not deny that the past in fact occurred and can now only be recounted incompletely and through the discrepant lens of memory and the camera. It is emptily pertinent today in the current political climate that is more quiet in the face of government atrocities. A time in which my generation is not struggling against police, but struggling simply to find a cause to fight for. Searching for a venue of revolt.